 |
 |
| Science Activities |
We believe that the
most productive approach to teaching science in the K-12 classroom
is one that enables children to realize that they can raise and answer
questions themselves. Here we present science inquiry activities for
students to conduct on their own school grounds, as well as tutorials
and other resources to help teachers become more confident about providing
science inquiry experiences for their students.
Using inquiry as
the framework for science study allows students to acquire much more
than scientific concepts; it immerses them in a process that promotes
the development of logical, analytical, and creative thought, and
enhances their capability to solve problems, work cooperatively, and
communicate clearly and accurately. Inquiry is a hands-on AND a minds-on
process.
The activities presented here are semi-guided inquiries.
They give both teachers and students more control over what questions
are asked and how those questions are investigated than typical cookbook
style science activities that dictate the scope of the question and
prescribe exactly how students will find the answer. They allow students
to experience the thrill of making their own discoveries rather than
just demonstrate their ability to follow instructions.
We realize that time is the most important limiting factor
teachers face. Certain topics and skills must be covered. Thus, our
activities are presented in the semi-guided format, allowing the teacher
to focus student questioning on a particular topic or concept. All
activities include math applications, as well as science content and
process skills.
As with every complex process that we eventually master, practice
is crucial to success with inquiry. Neither teachers nor students
will be able to start off with a full-blown, open-ended inquiry—
one in which students both pose the question and design the experiment
to answer it. In an ideal continuum, students move from fully-guided
inquiry, to semi-guided inquiry, to open-ended inquiry. That continuum
may require a whole year or even longer, but students will be building
their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills
throughout the process.
Cookbook experiments teach that there is one right answer,
gotten one way, with no messy interactions. We don't think that's
a good way to teach science. Rather, we want students to learn that
they can propose legitimate hypotheses that lead to testable predictions,
and to realize that the result of an experiment may not be clear for
good reason, and not because they made errors. That is how real science
works. Results may support the hypothesis completely, only partly,
or not at all. The latter two cases provide wonderful opportunities
to exercise skills that children are expected to develop in school:
problem-solving, critical thinking, and self-evaluation, to name a
few. When an experiment does not fully support the hypothesis, students
need to ask themselves (and each other) why, and figure out how they
can revise the hypothesis or redesign the experiment to tease apart
the real biological causes.
Nature is messy, with lots of complex
interactions among living and non-living things. That is one of the
things that makes it so fascinating to humans, especially children.
If you are interested in working with students in a habitat, presumably
you already recognize the tremendous value of engaging them in something
innately interesting to them, even though you, the teacher, will not
be able to answer every question that students pose or control the
outcome of every activity.
State and National Science Standards require that students understand
and practice the inquiry process. More importantly, students' motivation
to learn skyrockets when they are given the opportunity to raise and
answer their own questions. We aim to help you use inquiry as the
basis for science study in your schoolyard habitat, and encourage
you to apply it to all science topics, whether they be the ecology
of your schoolyard or magnets and light waves (a list of
recommended resources to help you do this is included in this
web site). The inquiry process is a way of thinking, not the only
way, but a very powerful one that can be applied to all subjects and
all aspects of living. Best of all, it's a lot of fun and never boring!
|
|
|
